Yeah, I’m not too concerned unless it keeps getting worse. Right now it’s manageable. Just curious as to the cause and what I might be able to buy or do to make it better. I tried to reset the usb cable near the flipper mechs and reseated the wire connections on the flipper mechs, but it seems to make it worse than better. Doh.

Backpanels

Due to the fact that no other guy will make them, I can offer them in some weeks.
I will make a small run in 2 mm PETG printed digitally from the back ... like plastics.

The price will be 120 EURO each plus shipping (around 35 EURO with UPS) ! Expensive I know .... I am sorry but no cheaper way in lasercutted PETG and it seems that the other source is dead.
With some plasticsets we did it this way: I send all to one intrested guy who spreads in the US to save up on shipping.

This will be a one time run , max 10 pieces.
Orders via private message please !

Great job

First - I will take a Backpanel.
Come on guys, don't waste your time, this will be the last chance to get the Space Jockey in a perfect condition.
And consider about the fact that the Plexi will break and the artwork will peel off sooner or later.

I’ll take one.

Maybe but at that point people will ve looking for other options again. At 171 usd for a single plastic this one jumped the shark for me.

Same, saving my money for a new apron lol.

Yes, this is a lot of money. Shipping might be less but the backboard pricing is what it is. I have only one firm willing to laser PETG due it smokes like hell while lasering. In the past here was a guy telling to make them in the US, for 2 month we hear nothing about it .. maybe due to the fact that lasering PETG is not sooooo easy.
My own backboard is not broken yet but I know of about 4 pins with broken backboards, therefor this is just a offer to be prepared. But sure, you can also glue a broken corner back. I am talking about a pinballmachine for 10.000 Dollar and a sparepart for 150 Dollar.
All PM are answered, my laserguy is checking the colors and hopefully we get a slot on the laser within 3 weeks. First we make one proto to compare.

Thanks for all your interest.

Again thanks for you effort and you probably right for how to do it.
I have spent more than 2000 dollars in spare since I’ve bought this pin thinking all the parts will be out of order soon and else and it actually didn’t : PF is still available (lot of stocks) boards, screens, cpu and else.
Time to time new stock parts come for sale from who knows where, NIB pins are still out there... yes.
If one day I sell this pin I know I will never get this money back but I m done with spending money on cosmetic or potential failure parts.
If it breaks, it breaks I ll live with it.

The apron is another thing.

No reproduction... and somehow always less original spare parts... that's the situation.
Plastics and backpanel are no cosmetic things, these are existential parts that once broken or peeled off they leave an unaesthetic condition.
And it's not funny to play this Pinball Machine while broken or incomplete.
Later on the time will come, where all these parts increase to astronomical prices that nobody wants to pay anymore.
Original plastics not made of PET-G are crap and how many of these you will swap during lifecylce of the ALIEN?
PET-G have to be installed once and that's it.
Alien also works with or without Apron, but not without plastics... especially the ramps.

USB wires. It’s difficult to read through thousands of posts on this topic. I’d like to purchase the “cream of the crop” USB connectors, could someone please tell me which ones to purchase?

Thanks Michael

it's wise and I do respect your opinion.
On my side, I start getted annoyed with all the money spent on this pinball, I haven't heard anything like this on other rare games like BBB and even TBL. Here, seems all the parts needs to be replaced.
I've played mine every day for couple months already with a playfield protector and everything is still perfect.
At the end, I don't want to pay double price for this pin just to be sure it last forever. Previous owner didn't even bought a spare led and everything was fine.
I mean what needs to be changes? I don't know for others but
all the plastics
the ramps
the apron
need capacitors
spare CPU
spare playfield
spare LED boards
spare driver boards (several for each pin)
new fancy USB cable at min 50 dol each
back trasparent panels
new alien motor (available)
spare playfield LCD
spare servo
coils (a lot) since there are HP
spare LEDs (a lot)
spare top lights
....
back panel?

And mine was a last run!!!

also the the spare parts are sold with crazy price on the marcket. Look at the top light on the LE for sell at 80 euros each, could be found en ebay at 25 euros for both...

Am I the only one thinking it's starting to be a bit too much? I know I might have some downvote on this...
I don't even want to spend on mods anymore.

I think one day now I might sell it, that's also why.

Let's just enjoy playing this pin guys. It was supposed to go to the bar....

This is a Pinball for experts and enthusiasts.
It's not a toy... it's a calling.
Once possesed by the game... you are lost.
Only the weirdest Pinheads will understand.

Still the best .

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Yeah. sorry but we lost each other. I am not some diaper wiper who thinks everything has to be perfect. things break and being someone who collects the rare and obscure, so what?

This is a toy. A big, expensive, toy. It is nothing more. It is not an art piece. It is not a museum piece. It was an amusement device intended for kids to beat the snot out of. The only thing we can agree on is that only the weirdest pinheads will understand you.

the diapers don’t need to be wiped just the buttocks , I know because I do it 10 times a day

I might not be an expert but it’s still a toy for me and I played it everyday. I prefer spending my time playing than looking for potential parts to change. Do you even play it every day?

I cannot play, because my ALIEN is still disassembled and I'm working under the playfield right now.
Until all parts haven't been collected or delivered I need and all improvement have been made, this Pinball Machine stays out of order.

Didnt you have some sob story about needing money, for family lol. Some people..

No, vivd did not do that. We disagreed on value but he was up front the entire time. No harm in him wanting for his game and there was no sob story.

Wrong. He was selling his vette and TBL for family. Now he has an Alien and probably a C8 on order.

I enjoy tinkering w my games as much as playing them. Alien provides the best of both worlds..." Needs" tinkering/re-engineering in certain areas, not for the weak of heart, and a phenomenal game to play.

There are about 4 things on my list to further the game...Xenon Strobe and apron are "next up" for me.

I don't have metal fab nor plastics creation in my wheelhouse, so have to outsource.

Gets done, but time consuming, and no ability to bring any of the things to market for others.

Maybe someday, but currently my job requires me to integrate/engineer several systems, so enjoy keeping my pinball projects as a hobby...No deadlines..

I sold my corvette wonka and tftc. Not that I owe you any explanation.

Well til. In any case I did not pay up because of the chance TBL would hit production again. I was right and while time will tell how many more get made it certainly wasn't the 10 percent chance I was incentivized with.

I’d say your chances are well below 10%. It’s one guy making machines one at a time. He still owes what? 150 people games and then needs to sell 500 to make up the money. He is producing about 2-3 a month. So given that timeline, you might have the opportunity to buy one in about 3-5 years assuming he doesn’t close up shop. But who knows what time will hold for him. Personally I hope he makes em all. I hope you get one too. He is just behind the 8 ball big time. Gonna need an angel investor I think.

The price was due to demand vs availability. People can wait and hope and maybe get one. Others can get one now. Also the whole, does a NIB game work? Or do ones that have been opened and you know works properly make you feel more comfortable. Different strokes. Pinball is an interesting hobby in that sense. There are those with 0 patience and those with tons of it. How they mix in this hobby is wild, stern definitely found a way to maximize those LE buyers.

Are we talking about ramps...c'mon, stay on piont!

Would also like to hear about the recommended high quality cables.

Any USB cables with ferite cores on them should be fine, like these:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5447

I believe you need one 10ft and three 6ft, but depending on routing and pulling the PF forward, may want two 10ft instead.

Basically, the USB cable is susceptible to interference from other things (coils, other wires) in the pinball machine, and noise (EMI) gets on the USB line and disrupts the signal between the game PC and the IO boards, causing breakdown in the communication. The ferrite core helps with this, as does routing the USB cables away from sources of EMI in the cabinet/under the PF.

Thanks! I have an interference problem with the right flippers and inserts so hopefully this helps.

The "disco ball" light show on the inserts will never go away when you flip, but the flippers should be solid. Make sure to route the cables as best you can away from other stuff, and zip tie them in well, leaving slack on both ends so they don't strain the USB headers on the IO board or CPU. The IO board USB headers are particularly fragile.

If it doesn’t go away, then I’m not sure the point. That is the only interference the game suffers from. :shrug:

The original crap USB cables tend to be the root of many other gremlin problems in the game.. including I/O boards resetting mid-game as connectors work free, etc. Consider it 'bullet proofing'

You said less than 10 percent that anymore get made. More are being made period. Don't bother trying to talk your way around it. Don't care if production is slow. It doesn't matter because end of the story is more are being made which you said would not happen. It is why I balked at your price and frankly I was right. If you ended up taking less it seems I was not the only one who thought 18k was ludicrous.

You can think it was ludicrous all you want it’s a free country. My game was still listed lower than any other TBL has ever been listed for. Easily could have asked more as was shown by the other sellers. As for twisting my words. Pretty sure In still correct that 10% chance, as games being made for preorder EA’s and being made for you are 2 different things so you can live in whatever fantasy land you want to live in.

Ah, good to know! I didn’t realize it created issues with other aspects of the game. Thanks for the knowledge!

Just so we can end this and get back to alien, TBL will be available very soon, no one should pay more than 12.5 period.

Vivid could have lit the game on fire if he wanted to - he bought it, his choice. Both people seem happy. Let's move on.

Can’t wait. No reason it should have been brought up to begin with. It’s funny how other people feel the need to inject themselves into other people’s trades especially when they message you to get the game themselves. This is an alien forum. Plenty of TBL threads to whine in.

Is there any known fix to the disco light show from flipper engagement? Is it the IO board? A simple LED board? Anyone had success in eliminating it?

Exactly. If you don’t know Vivid, don’t judge him. Shut up and move in. Aliens is a great game.

The disco lighting that doesn't go away doesn't affect game play in anyway, it's really only noticeable if you know to look for it... good USB cables often resolve the other USB comm related issues, flipper and coil issues, etc.

I'm not aware of any fix for the disco ball lighting issue, it's more than likely PCB board design or IO board design related. It really only happens when flipping, so probably just a little leaky EMI from the coil is enough to cross onto the lighting circuit somewhere. It doesn't seem to hurt anything, so just ignore it and enjoy the pin.

Can I wrap the flipper mech in tinfoil lmao.

It is a design flaw in the hardware. Software changes were made to try to minimize it.. but ultimately it has not been defeated.

Well, in my video from previous owner, I was looking for it and it wasn’t nearly as prominent as it is now. I guess I was hoping there would be an easy solution as to why shipping might have made it present itself more visibility in an effort to reverse it back to minimal change.

Oh well. I’ll try a new pcb board when ones become available. I have some io boards otw and lots of led boards and replacement leds so who knows. I’ll give it shot.

Just be cautious of causing more harm to something that is really minor.

Also a good point.

-edit- going to be nice and just let it drop.

On topic: Still don't know the name of the style plug that goes into the replacement jaw and tongue control boards.

This week I took a closer look to the tongue and the mounting of the small magnet.
My ALIEN was also damaged there and the magnet was already broken and just held by the shrinking hose.
I think about another solution with a screwed magnet that can easily changed when damaged.
There're loads of magnets in the market, but first the gear rack has to be modified.
The idea is to drill a thread into the gear rack and use a small magnet with the same specification of the old magnet but screwed to the gear rack... no glue or else.
Here's an example...

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I miss my Alien.. what a game. If they ever remade it I’d have another go.

Someday I hope to own Alien! As for TBL being “available very soon” unfortunately I am nearly certain you are wrong, unless by available you mean 10 or so more games get made by Barry, because from everything I have seen and heard that is all that we will see made.